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Should my family & I move to Florida?

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I've been to Florida. Good fishing but it's hotter than all the fires of hell in summer.

IMO Alaska has a much more hospitable climate, but I prefer cold weather.
 
I have lived in FL (Tampa Bay area) for the past 12 years. I say it has its pros and cons. It does get extremely humid and hot (as everyone knows). I like it here. There are many nice beaches and tons of parks and campgrounds (city, state, privately owned). I do not like how busy it is where I live. I have not been to Destin or Panama City area but I'm sure it gets pretty crazy packed during Spring Break as many college kids come there to party. I have a family here now and have been at my current job for 10 years. I do like it but I can honestly say that I don't want to live here my entire life. I miss the fall and winter way too much. If you enjoy fishing and the water (which it sounds like you do) then you may fall in love with it. Just my .02
 
Come check out the Tampa bay area. It's where I live. I am a native tampon....(that's a joke son).... It's hot here, yeah... But I have been swimming on Christmas day...at the beach, or lake... Florida doesn't have seasons, it has a climate.
There are downsides...but then again, there is everywhere. It's a great place to raise kids....

Doc
 
I live in Lafayette but vacation there every year, my parents had a condo there for years. We just got back from Sand Destin. San Destin, Destin, Gratyon, Water Color Sea Side the whole 30A route is very nice, upscale for the most part there will be little to no spring breakers here as they can't afford it. There will be tons of them in Panama City. Panama City is practically not even comparable to Destin or the Sand Destin area. Remember there is Panama City Florida and Panama City Beach Florida which are right next to each other but different.

I don't think it is hot but I live in Lafayette, LA so I'm kinda used to heat and humidity. Florida is hot but nearly as humid as Louisiana and there is always are nearly always a nice breeze coming off the Gulf in and around Destin. The Destin area is going to be packed and riducles with vacationers from the middle of may through the middle of August it will spike again on Labor Day and around Easter. During the school months of Sept through May it is NICE, we used to go in October before our son was school age and beaches were empty, the water was crystal clear and the fishing was good. Now I'm from Louisiana so even when the fishing is good in Florida it doesn't even begin to hold a candle to the salt water fishing we have, not even close. Good days in an around Destin maybe 15 speckle trout total and you can only keep 5, good day here in Louisiana you catch your limit of specks 25 per man twice, going back and putting the first limit on ice while you go get another one and then leave them biting. Its stupid good, almost all year.

Prices have come down significantly in the Destin area over the previous 4 years, we looked at another condo for my parents at Sand Destin, not on the beach but on the golf course or bay side and could have picked something decent like 3 bed 2 bath 1,600 sq ft, deck, fire place, easily for 300K. Now the HOA was another 300+ per month but you don't do anything but put out your trash. Debbie blew into town while we were there and the morning after the wind stopped the entire development was full of uniformed mexican's with safety vest on picking up every single stick that blew down. By lunch time you could not tell a tropical depression had just blown through.

The whole Destin area or 30A vibe is nice and the locals are friendly but summer is going to be slam packed with vacationers 24/7 which means lots of traffic, lots. Moreover Destin and the 30A is without question going upscale and around the resorts things are pricey. We went out to eat every night 8 of us and our bill was never less than 253 and was as high one night as 645. I'm sure the locals have other places to eat but everything in that area seems to be going upscale or high end. So your cost of living at least during peak season is going to be high I would imagine.

Just go down there and check it out, you will see what I mean though about Panama City there simply is not comparison when your talking about the Destin area to Panama City. Something else you may want to check out is the area down around Port St. Joe and Cape San Blas and Mexico Beach different places for sure but all have really good feels to them. Port St. Joe especially, now that said Port St. Joe and the other towns are small off the beaten path and all about an hour east of Panama City and would be considered rural beach communities but there interesting laid back places for sure.

Hope this helps.
 
I grew up in Florida, and only recently moved to Kansas for work. The best things about Florida are the beaches/water, no state income tax, great fishing, and a great state parks system. The negatives are the lack of seasons (hot and humid ALWAYS) and the crowding in certain cities.

The area you are talking about is beautiful, and only a little crowded during high tourist traffic times of year. You definitely need to get a boat to make the most of living down there.
 
I went to highschool and undergrad in Florida (Go Gators). Then I moved to Huntington, WV for 8 years. Now I've returned to Florida (Jacksonville) for the last 3 years.

So I can compare where you live now to what it's like down here.

One thing I miss about the WV/KY area is the hills. Florida is really flat. There are no mountains to block the storms and the bugs are about 10 times bigger in both size and number. BUT the winters are great, the gulf beaches are awesome and if you like to fish, this is the place to be. Also, as someone mentioned above, there's no state income tax which will be huge when you win the Powerball.
 
Do it I live in Navarre which is a hour from destin and a few hours from panama city. Been here my whole life I love this place
 
Thanks for the replies everyone, i appreciate it. We are looking at a highrise condo on the beach in destin, range from 150K to 175K w 3bed 2-3 bath, 1600 sq ft. I am excited about the no state taxes!
I have lived in Louisville, KY since 1991, so 21 years, so i am very used to heat and humidity during the summers, was just over 100 degrees for 9 days i think this past couple of weeks.
Yep, we were assuming there would be some association fees, hopefully they are not too bad.
 
Well, for what its worth...and you can do what you like.... Don't buy anything with an HOA... Dumbest idea on the planet... Condo association, is nearly the same thing as an HOA, but necessary I suppose if you want to go the condo route, but it ain't for me...

Oh, and I know a thing or two about them both...

But is just my humble opinion.

Doc
 
I was in Destin last year. Lots of dumb ass spring-breakers riding rental mopeds weaving in and out of traffic. Even crossing into the opposite lane. They do have a pretty big bass pro shop their though.
 
Sure if you're over 60 . I've been to FL twice and I'm done with it. I'm just not a beach guy.
 
Florida is pretty nice. I have a friend that lives in Panama City Beach. I wouldn't be terribly opposed to living there, although I still much prefer Arizona. Moved out here in 2008 from northern IL... and I was so glad to get out of communist Russia.
 
I've been looking at places in FL also, but on the East Coast. Some of the things I've discovered are: be careful if there was a build/renovation from the late '80s thru early 2000's due to Chinese wallboard woes. The offgas isn't just deadly, it corrodes electrical connections and the only way to fix it is to gut down to the studs -- including electrical and plumbing! If you're in a condo all the units have to be done at the same time or you get the gas from your neighbor and you might as well not have done it at all. Hard to get everyone on the same track.
Check insurance. A friend's uncle had a high-rise condo unit that got damaged by a storm and was without a home for a year. His unit was insured, but the damage to the common areas resulted in a $30,000 "assessment" for repairs because the condo association was under insured. A year later another storm came through and the same thing happened. He ended up just walking away.

There ARE hills in FL -- near Brooksville. I'm leaning toward Ormond Beach, north of Daytona.
 
That is true about the Sheetrock I have seen the copper on a/c coils get eaten up by that stuff
 
How come no one has mentioned the best part?

The knife laws, there is no regulation stating maximum size that is carryable in the state.
 
I lived in FLA for many years and if you like hurricanes, heat, humidity, flat landscape, alligators, mosquitoes, Palmetto bugs, kudzu, poisonous snakes and now anacondas in the Everglades; you will love the Sunshine State.
 
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